Cro-Magnon Man (human)
Cro-Magnon Man (Homo sapiens sapiens) is a human being who lived from around the year 40,000 BC onward. His lifestyle is featured in the episode Cro-Magnon Man. Cro-Magnon Man's Houses It is time for Cro-Magnon man to improve his comfort by building pleasant dwellings. Although Neanderthals and some Cro-Magnons still live in open caves, other Cro-Magnons have begun to make more sophisticated dwellings. Thanks to fire’s protection from beasts, Monsieur de Cro-Magnon can choose to live wherever he wants. Using large bones or mammoth tusks, he manages to build huts, which he then covers with skins and fur for warmth. They also provide shelter from wind and weather. Finally, reindeer antlers on the roof prevent the skins from flying off. These huts sometimes resemble small igloos, but the most spacious can accommodate several families. During hunting season, Monsieur de Cro-Magnon moves around a lot and becomes a nomad. He then pitches tents with branches which he covers with skins. These tents, which resemble Amerindian teepees, are organized like rooms in our modern homes. In those that serve as bedrooms, you can use foliage and animal skins to create your own prehistoric mattress. The fire is found in the tent which serves as the kitchen, and others serve as small workshops devoted to manual labor, namely, the manufacture of tools! Prehistoric Tools: Man Equips Himself Cro-Magnon Man has succeeded in inventing new objects useful to his daily life by developing his ability and intelligence. After learning how to cut stone more and more finely, Monsieur de Cro-Magnon has begun using bones, ivory, and the antlers of deer and reindeer to make new tools. The techniques become more precise and allow him to obtain a multitude of objects with very distinct roles. Scratchers, scrapers, perforators… Historians have given them such names in reference to their function, even though an object can be used for a variety of tasks. New weapons also appear, allowing Monsieur de Cro-Magnon to hunt more effectively. But we don’t know everything about the novelties of the time since we still wonder what could be useful tools! This is notably the case with the perforated rod, also called “the rod of command.” Will research eventually reveal this mystery? Who knows? On the other hand, several Cro-Magnon inventions are still present in everyday life, in the same form. Well, almost. For example, needles with eyelets that make it possible to pass thread through materials are still used by Belle-Époque seamstresses! The difference: these needles are made, not of bone, but of metal. Hunting: A Well-Run Organization Thanks to hunting, Cro-Magnon man is able to change his lifestyle… and not just on the culinary level! Mammoths, bison, horses, aurochs… Almost no animal is spared from Monsieur de Cro-Magnon when he and his men go hunting in packs! They are now able to produce high-performance weapons and, contrary to popular belief, they don’t walk with giant clubs! Real clubs of Cro-Magnon are pretty much just sticks or batons. But to finish off the animals, Monsieur de Cro-Magnon’s techniques are much more intricate. One of them is to push his prey into ravines. He and his men then dismember the beast on the spot if they cannot transport it. But its meat is not the only thing that interests him. He also recovers the skin to make his clothes and the bones to make new tools. And even if Monsieur de Cro-Magnon and Mr. Neanderthal are often victorious, their outings are not without danger. In order not to get too close to his prey, Monsieur de Cro-Magnon has invented bows and arrows as well as spear-throwers. Spear-throwers, sticks equipped at their extremity with a kind of hook, allow a spear to be sent much farther than the simple force of a man’s wrist. And thus, he remains at a distance from ferocious beasts. He has also taken advantage of another very useful weapon to avoid assaults: fire! By wielding flaming torches, he manages to take on many animals! Prehistoric Jewelry Cro-Magnons care about their appearance and make small decorative objects. In the Prehistory District, jewelry has an ornamental function, but without any doubt, they are also given magical powers. Apparently, they are also a mark of hierarchy within groups, as well as symbolizing the stages of human life. Some are worn on a daily basis, while others are reserved for special occasions. These jewels are also used to decorate clothing. To make these ornaments, Cro-Magnon man uses several materials: bones, teeth, stones, clay, or shells. Among them are pendants, long pendants, engraved and pierced, which are worn around the neck, wrists, or ankles. The materials are often streaked or engraved with designs of animals. Sometimes, he also makes pretty necklaces by putting several small elements on links. No traces of these necklaces, probably made from horsehair or animal tendons, have been found. Evolutionists have long believed that only Cro-Magnons are able to make jewelry. However, in 2002, it was discovered that Neanderthals also pierce shells for jewelry! Cro-Magnon Sculptures Cro-Magnon man is already very gifted at sculpture. Numerous copies have been found throughout the world for the past two centuries. The statuettes of the period most often represent animals such as horses, lions, or bison, and unlike paintings, they also represent many women. Strange beings, half-animal and half-man, have also been discovered. These works are made of ivory, bone, stone, or clay. The most famous are undoubtedly the Venus figurines, named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love. Small in size, they are very plump, and no detail can be seen on their faces. Among the two hundred that have been found, the oldest is the Venus of Hohle Fels, discovered in the German city of the same name in 2009. It may have been created 35,000 years ago. And during all these millennia, it lost only one shoulder and one arm! Two-and-a-half inches (six centimeters) high and weighing only about an ounce (30 grams), it is made of mammoth ivory. Its reappearance forced prehistorians to change the date of the birth of sculptural art. But perhaps future excavations will allow us to go back in time… Paleo Cuisine: A Variety of Menus Even if they don’t have the same food options as we, Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons are able to change their diet according to their needs… and their tastes! Early humans were vegetarians. Their meals consisted of berries, dried fruits, roots, mushrooms, and leaves. And they devoted many hours to gathering their fruits. But during the winter, it sometimes became complicated to find enough food throughout the year, so they and their descendants gradually incorporated meat into their diets, first by eating insects and small animals. Some early humans gather animal carcasses left behind by predators and are particularly fond of brains! But Neanderthals, as well as Cro-Magnons, prefer to hunt big game like mammoths, horses, and reindeer. Thus, meat has become one of their staple foods. Near shorelines and riverbeds, they can also pick up shellfish and catch fish. At first, all of these foods were eaten raw. Neanderthal Man later discovered cooking, probably by eating meat from a dead animal retrieved from a fire. So, it’s quite natural that he’s gotten into the habit of cooking his own meals. Milk and cereals will appear only in the Neolithic period with their domestication of the cow, the goat, and the sheep, and with the beginnings of agriculture. Cave Paintings at Lascaux Monsieur de Cro-Magnon has used painting very early to express himself. Paper hasn’t been invented yet, so it is on walls that he makes his drawings! Several million paintings have been made on rocks or caves during the course of history. Many animals have been found, such as aurochs, mammoths, or deer, as well as geometric forms and, more rarely, representations of men. And in Cro-Magnon, there are not as many color options as today. Monsieur de Cro-Magnon can obtain yellow, beige, brown, or red with different kinds of dirt, white with chalk, and black with charcoal. These materials are sometimes mixed together and dampened with water or fat. This mixture is then applied by hand or with the mouth. After sucking the paint up with a hollow bone, Monsieur de Cro-Magnon blows it directly in the direction of the wall. Sometimes, he also uses a reed rather than a bone to project the paint. As far as accessories are concerned, paintbrushes are made from a combination of twigs and animal hair, and hides are used as stencils. Moreover, the presence of frescoes on sometimes high ceilings suggests that Monsieur de Cro-Magnon has made scaffolds or uses long sticks to reach certain places. On September 8, 1940, in southwestern France, Marcel, a 17-year-old apprentice mechanic, walked with his dog Robot. While pursuing a rabbit, the mongrel entered a hole. His master, hearing his barks, then approached the cavity and, throwing stones, deducted that it was deep. Four days later, Marcel returned with his three friends Simon, Georges, and Jacques to explore it. After having enlarged the hole, the teenagers managed to penetrate and then discover the impressive paintings of what was to be called Lascaux Cave. It had been almost 20,000 years since the last time someone had admired them! Several hundred animals, including horses, aurochs, deer, and ibexes, had been painted and engraved on the walls. The boys wanted to keep their discovery a secret, but Marcel’s former teacher was quickly informed. He talked to the prehistorian Henri Breuil, who certified the authenticity of the paintings. The cave then became a tourist destination, to where more than 1000 curious visitors hurried each day. But in 1963, it was closed to the public because carbon dioxide ejected by the visitors was degrading the paint little by little. Since 1983, a second cave called Lascaux II was built. Located 656 feet (200 meters) from the original, this replica allows a new generation to admire the works of this illustrious site. The Domestication of the Wolf For a long time, man and beast have lived side by side. Their reconciliation is now destined to change the lives of both! Contrary to popular belief, it was not the dog that was the first domesticated animal, but the wolf! Like Cro-Magnons, wolves form an organized society and hunt in packs, which could explain why both have come closer together. The sociability of the wolf allows Monsieur de Cro-Magnon to catch young cubs, probably orphans! Touched by the adorable puppies, he finally adopts them. The small animals, by his side, accept Monsieur de Cro-Magnon as the pack leader, thus letting themselves be tamed by their new family. Man and beast then hunt together, the wolves helping their master to defend himself from predators. It is now accepted that wolves and dogs are both variations of dogkind, as are jackals, coyotes, and even foxes. Over time, dogs have gotten used to the human environment. At the onset of breeding, they help man to keep watch over flocks. And man’s best friend has changed his initially exclusively carnivorous diet, consuming grains in addition to meat! Category:Humans Category:Characters Category:Paleolithic